For Northview’s East Oakview Elementary School students, school spirit is building one music class at a time.

Music teacher Lou Sinigos began a new initiative this year with the goal of having students learn and perform the “Northview Fight Song” during concerts and school functions. The idea came to Sinigos when he was attending a school-sporting event and it came time to sing the fight song. He wasn’t quite sure of all the lyrics, and students, parents, and other fans also appeared to be stumbling over the words as well.

“I thought with time we can fix that,” he said.

So, with some encouragement from his wife, Cheryl, and some researching to find the correct lyrics, Sinigos began teaching students the fight song:

“Go Northview Wildcats victory is our cry

Win, you Northview Wildcats

as we hold your banner high (fight fight fight)

Press on you red and white

Fight on for your fame

Fight Wildcats fight with all your might

and let's go out and win this game

Go, fight, win tonight

Go, fight, win tonight.”

The third and fourth-graders performed the song during their concert in December, and first and second-graders did the same at their February concert.

The students also sing the song on Fridays in the lunchroom and at school activities, such as when the state championship-winning boys’ soccer team came to the school to talk to the students and demonstrate some ball-handling techniques. “Our gift back to them was the song,” Sinigos said.

And students are showing their Wildcat pride when they perform.

“The song is fun to sing,” said fourth-grader Sarah Baab, 9. Fellow fourth-grader

Rosa Villanueva, 10, agreed, saying, “I like all the enthusiasm.”

Fourth-grader Steven Sweet, 9, said the song wasn’t too hard to learn. And his favorite part: “It’s loud!”

Sinigos said at the end of the school year he will start teaching the song to the kindergartners to start preparing them for first grade.

Sinigos hopes his initiative will bring the students a sense of pride and school spirit. He also hopes his initiative will become district-wide. Some of his fellow music teachers have already started teaching the fight song to their students.

“We’re so far removed from times before when there was community singing and school spirit,” he said. “I want to bring it back.”